Franz West Archive wins back image rights and production rights for ten furniture pieces from the Franz West Foundation, after the Austrian Supreme Court ruled transfers to the Private Foundation invalid. The decision retroactively reinstates the Archive’s rights to images and the distribution/production of ten West-designed furniture, with potential implications for related lawsuits and an appeal to the European Court of Justice.
The article reports Sotheby’s setting a new auction record for Auguste Rodin with L’Eternel Printemps selling for $20.4 million during an Im‑Mod sale in New York. The sale totaled $144.5 million, below the low estimate of $164.8 million, with 21 passes and a 66 percent sell-through. Notable results include Maurice de Vlaminck’s Sous-Bois at $16.4 million and Paul Signac’s Maisons du port, Saint-Tropez at $10.7 million; the piece also notes leadership changes at Sotheby’s and recent strategic moves.
Yusaku Maezawa, founder of a Japanese online retailer, bought Jean-Michel Basquiat’s painting depicting a horned devil’s head with streams of red, green and black paint for $57.3 million; Maezawa purchased the Basquiat and four other works totaling $81.4 million, per the Contemporary Art Foundation. He plans to open a private museum in Chiba to showcase his collection built over the past decade.
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (1982) sold for $57.3 million at Christie’s postwar and contemporary sale in New York, setting a new artist record; the sale totaled $318.4 million with 52 of 60 lots sold, within a presale estimate of $285.6 million to $398.2 million.
Sotheby’s bounces back with steady contemporary art sale reports a contemporary sale totaling $209.6 million hammer and $242.2 million with premiums, led by a Cy Twombly 1968 blackboard work that sold for $32.5 million; notable lots included Alexander Calder’s mobile, Sam Francis’ Summer #1 sold to Eli Broad for $10.35 million, and other works by Robert Rauschenberg, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Alberto Mugrabi, Joan Mitchell, and Zhang Xiaogang.
Yusaku Maezawa bought Jean-Michel Basquiat Untitled (1982) at Christie’s for $57 million. He also purchased four other works at the sale for a total of $81.3 million, including Richard Prince’s Runaway Nurse (2007), Jeff Koons’s Lobster (2007-2012), Alexander Calder’s Sumac 17 (1955), and Bruce Nauman’s Eat War (1986).
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s self-portrait Untitled, 1982, sold at Christie’s for $57.3 million, setting a new auction record for the artist. The work was described as a fiery, demonic self-portrait and had a presale estimate of $40 million; the Christie’s sale also featured works by Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, and a group of nine Alexander Calder sculptures.
Cy Twombly’s Untitled (New York City), 1968, sold for $36.7 million. Francis Bacon’s Two Studies for a Self-Portrait (1970) sold for $34.97 million, and Cy Twombly’s Untitled (Bacchus 1st Version V), 2004, sold for $15.4 million at Sotheby’s contemporary auction, which totaled $242.2 million with a 95 percent sell-through rate.
Yusaku Maezawa, founder of Zozotown, continued his art purchases as Sotheby’s contemporary art auction reached $242.2 million in sales. Eli Broad bought Sam Francis’ Summer #1 for $11.8 million, a new auction record for the artist.
Maezawa Yusaku, founder of ZOZOTOWN and head of Start Today, purchased Jean-Michel Basquiat's Untitled for about 6.24 billion yen at a Christie’s evening sale in New York on May 10, along with four other works by Bruce Nauman, Alexander Calder, Richard Prince, and Jeff Koons. He plans to establish a private museum in his hometown of Chiba City within the coming years, and the Modern Art Promotion Foundation will organize exhibitions of his contemporary-art collection twice a year.
Cy Twombly, Untitled (New York City), 1968, led Sotheby’s post-war and contemporary art sale with a $36.7 million canvas. The auction totaled $242.2 million with 42 of 44 lots sold, and included works by Francis Bacon among others.
Christie’s reports strong global participation and demand for the 20th Century Week Series in New York, with $656,201,500 achieved across Evening, Day, Works on Paper sales, and related online and capsule sales. The release notes 20 new world auction records and highlights include record prices for a Bruce Nauman video work and various artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Frida Kahlo, Richard Prince, Agnes Martin, Mike Kelley, Kerry James Marshall, and Maurizio Cattelan.
Claude Monet Le bassin aux Nymphéas (1919) was the top lot in Christie’s sale, with final price $27 million after premium. Frida Kahlo Dos Desnudos en el Bosque (La Tierra Misma) (1939) was also featured in the sale. The auction totaled $141 million with 44 of 51 lots sold.
Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art evening sale in New York totaled $141.5 million, above the low estimate of $134.3 million. Monet’s Le bassin aux nymphéas sold for $27 million, Modigliani’s Jeune femme à la rose (Margherita) brought $12.8 million, and Monet’s Au Petit-Gennevilliers sold for $11.4 million; Picasso’s Comptoir et verres was the only guaranteed lot that sold. Christie’s reported an 86 percent sell-through rate and contrasted with Sotheby’s results from the same period. Frida Kahlo’s work achieved an $8 million result in this market context.
Frida Kahlo’s painting Two Nudes in the Forest (The Land Itself) sold for $8 million at Christie's in New York, setting a new auction record for the artist. The sale also included works by Monet and Picasso, with Monet’s Pond with Water Lilies selling for $27 million and Picasso’s Seated Man fetching $8 million. Amedeo Modigliani’s Young Woman with a Rose sold for $12.8 million.
The article discusses two Sotheby’s letters to Helly Nahmad Gallery concerning the Modigliani painting Seated Man With a Cane (1918) and a lawsuit in New York against Helly Nahmad and his gallery by the estate of Oscar Stettiner. It notes that the Nahmad family has claimed ownership of the painting via International Art Center (IAC), a Panama-registered entity, and references Panama Papers disclosures.
Yusaku Maezawa was the buyer of Basquiat’s untitled painting for $57.3 million and also acquired works by Richard Prince, Jeff Koons, Alexander Calder, and Bruce Nauman at Christie’s, followed by purchases at Sotheby’s including Adrian Ghenie and Christopher Wool, totaling $98 million in two days.
Leslie Rankow Fine Arts discusses Lisson Gallery's international presence in London, Milan, and New York, focusing on Art Basel Unlimited and related off-site exhibitions. The article highlights Anish Kapoor's Dragon at Art Basel Unlimited, Tony Oursler's work, and Jonathon Monk's installations as part of Lisson Gallery's program for June 2016.
Diego Rivera painting Dance in Tehuantepec sold privately for $15.7 million, a world record for a Latin American artwork, facilitated by Phillips. The buyer is Eduardo Costantini, who plans to exhibit it at MALBA in Buenos Aires and other venues.
Diego Rivera's painting Dance in Tehuantepec sold privately for $15.7 million, setting a world record for a Latin American artwork, according to Phillips Auction House. The buyer was Eduardo Costantini, founder of MALBA, who plans to exhibit the work at his museum and elsewhere. The piece, created in 1928, depicts dancers performing the zandunga under a banana tree and measures 79 by 64.5 inches.
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum acquires The Barns, Lake George, 1926 by Georgia O’Keeffe for an undisclosed price. The painting is oil on canvas, 21 x 32 ¼ inches, and was funded by the museum’s acquisition fund.
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum bought The Barns, Lake George (1926) at Christie’s New York for $3.3 million. The painting came from the estate of Marion “Kippy” Bolton Stroud.
Georgia O'Keeffe's 1926 painting The Barns, Lake George, has been acquired by the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe for $3.3 million. The work, an abstract painting, was private for years and now joins the museum's collection, illustrating O'Keeffe's broader range beyond flowers.
Georgia O’Keeffe’s 1926 painting The Barns, Lake George, has been purchased by the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe for $3.3 million. The work depicts structures on a rural retreat used by O’Keeffe and her husband, Alfred Stieglitz, and represents a lesser-known abstract phase of her career.
John Constable, View on the Stour near Dedham (circa 1821–22) is offered by Christie’s at its Defining British Art sale in London on June 30, with an unpublished estimate in the region of £12 million–£16 million ($17.8 million–$23 million). The work is described as the last great six-footer sketch in private hands; Christie’s holds the record for a Constable work with The Lock (1837) sold for £22 million ($35 million) in July 2012 in London. The article also notes other Constable works related to Christie’s and past sales, including a piece misattributed to a follower of Constable and later authenticated for a substantial sale at Sotheby’s in 2015.